White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama's "personal opinion is that women should be admitted" to the golf club. Carney said it was "up to the club to decide" but Obama told him he personally thinks women should be welcome.

"We're kind of long past the time when women should be excluded from anything," Carney said.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Obama's likely challenger in the autumn election, said "of course" he would allow women in "if I could run Augusta."

"Of course. I am not a member of Augusta. I don't know if I would qualify. My golf game is not that good," Romney said at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania. "If I could run Augusta, which isn't likely to happen, of course I'd have women."